Category: Crime

ANALYSIS: Trump Made $82 Million From Ireland And UK Properties He Relentlessly Promoted While In Office

ANALYSIS: Trump Made $82 Million From Ireland And UK Properties He Relentlessly Promoted While In Office

Something everyone knew / knows.   Trump failed at every business attempt he made, and he clearly was into money laundering.   He got a break on TV when the show promoted him as a super wealthy, smart businessman that was a total fiction.  But he burned through the nearly 500 million he made from that like a drunk sailor on their first shore leave after a long voyage.  The financial experts say if he had put the 400 million his dad gave him in the bank, he would have far more money than he does now.   The most profit trump ever made was when he was president, and that was because his focus as president was enriching him self.   Too hell with the country, too hell with the laws, and to hell with the constitution, and worse every foreign decision was made with trump’s family profits in mind.  Trump’s focus has always been only on himself and his needs.  

There are a lot of great comments, but I am seriously pushed for time and Ron pushed himself too hard outside when the heat on him was 102.   He has MS which means heat is the enemy, but he won’t listen until like now when he is feeling very bad, ill, sick.   So I have to divert my attention to caring for him.    Hugs

GOP FL Prosecutor Didn’t Pursue Six Voter Fraud Cases In Red County, Unlike Those Charged In Blue Counties

GOP FL Prosecutor Didn’t Pursue Six Voter Fraud Cases In Red County, Unlike Those Charged In Blue Counties

This was just another republican stun to suppress votes in democratic leaning areas and promote the votes of the republican leanings areas.  Republicans understand that the majority of people don’t want what they are selling, the majority of people dislike the republican way.   Most people want to progress, not regress.  Most people want equality and to be able to live in diverse communities that blend in to a greater whole.  The current republican fascist mode is driven by the fundamental religious need to force everyone to regress to the norms of 1950 to ensure their religious / ethnic superiority.  Basically these Fundy groups need the society to regress to return to when their male white prestige was unquestioned and their churches made money from more white people having more kids sitting in the pews.    They want that because they claim the richer they get, the more pleased their god is and when everyone follows their church doctrines their god will come back and give them everything ever and ever and ever … they are trying to force the country to follow the dictates of a 2,500-year-old myth based on a geopolitical book written for a people long dead.   For their own profit and self power.  For that they are willing to fuck over the majority of the population that wants to live in the current socially progressive time gaining ever more public understanding.  Understand, in the republican strong hold of the Villages there have been five or six convictions on republicans repeated voting and violating elections laws.  There were more that were not charged.   But this was a wealthy republican retirement development that deathSantis caters to the developer.  So you don’t hear about them, and the DeathSantis election police avoids them.  Here is a description of the place.   Hugs

Is The Villages a Republican stronghold?
 
 
With square footage larger than Manhattan, The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in Central Florida, has long been considered a Republican stronghold. The retiree haven increasingly reflects Florida’s changing politics. It isn’t a purple battleground — 75% of its voters are registered Republicans.

 

 

DreadPikathulhu 2 days ago

Wilhoit’s law
“Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.“

Ragnar Lothbrok 2 days ago

Yes different standards for everything.
The GOP way, every day

Uncle Mark: HoHo-smoking homo 2 days ago

GOP FL Prosecutor Didn’t Pursue Six Voter Fraud Cases In Red County, Unlike Those Charged In Blue Counties

As Lord Pudding Fingers demands

weshlovrcm2 days ago

WOW! How SURPRISING that we would see a far-right fascist prosecutor ignore other far-right fascist voter fraud cases!

NotMiguel2 days ago

Two standards in Florida for everything. Never going back there.

Houndentenor 2 days ago

Whatever GQPers are accusing others (esp Democrats) of doing, they are doing themselves. Look at Shiny Happy People (docuseries on Amazon) for ample evidence that THEY are the groomers they are accusing everyone else of being. The same goes for voter fraud. They are doing what they claim Democrats are doing. It’s all about projection with this crowd.

J.Martindale2 days ago

I may be wrong, but isn’t selective prosecution grounds for overthrowing convictions?

stretchdad  J.Martindale2 days ago

I think so, but it’s difficult to prove. Since no two cases are exactly alike, prosecutors can usually find some after-the-fact justification for why they did or didn’t charge someone.

JT2 days ago
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Friday2 days ago

Fasccist Florida cheats elections at all levels.

TnCTampa 2 days ago

Its so crazy that states just do what they want and no one from the feds can help if you live there. I didnt know the constitution was so easily voided.

CubbyPQ 2 days ago

A true Republican. They’re likely chuckling about this at the yacht club right now.

 

Uganda Made Homosexuality Punishable by Death. American Evangelical Groups Played a Role

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/uganda-homosexuality-law-american-evangelicals

The fundamentalists drool and dream of accomplishing this here and worldwide.   They are going after trans people and LGBTQ+ media first, then outlaw the LGBTQ+.  They may keep lesbians, as the male fundamentalist love watching girl on girl porn.   These religious groups spent over 20 million in Uganda alone over the last few years to get these hateful anti-gay bills passed.   This is the enemy we face here in the US.  They are driven, they will sacrifice any money time and time again for the cause of their god.    Hugs

The legislation comes after years of lobbying from American Christian groups.
 

BY CALEB ECARMA

This article was originally published by Vanity Fair.

After more than a decade of anti-LGBTQ lobbying from American evangelical groups, Uganda has finally enacted what’s among the harshest antigay laws in the world. On Monday, Yoweri Museveni, the president of the East African nation, signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023, a bill that makes homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment and “aggravated homosexuality”—a vague phrase that applies to both predators and those who use “misrepresentation” or “undue influence” to engage in gay sex—punishable by death. Even attempting “to commit the offense of homosexuality” could lead to a seven-year prison sentence. Moreover, anyone found guilty of “promoting” homosexuality in the country could face up to 20 years in prison, while so-called “serial offenders” and those who transmit HIV/AIDS through gay sex could be subject to capital punishment.

The law has faced widespread condemnation abroad. In a Monday statement, Joe Biden condemned it as “a tragic violation” of human rights and said the White House was “considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption.” (For his part, Museveni previously praised Uganda’s parliament members for defying “imperialist” pressure campaigns against the law, which is also being challenged in court by in-country activists.)

Antigay sentiment in Uganda has climbed in recent years due in no small part to American evangelicals, who spent more than $20 million fighting LGBTQ rights in the country between 2007–2020, according to The Washington Post. Scott Lively, an American pastor, spearheaded this effort in the early 2000s, participating in a series of popular antigay lectures in Uganda and describing homosexuality as a “disease” propagated by the West. Several years later, Uganda’s parliament proposed initial legislation, known as the “Kill the Gays” bill, that was supported by a number of American Christian groups and eventually signed into law. While that measure ultimately buckled under court scrutiny, its draconian vision has now been revived and etched into law by Museveni’s pen.

 

In a strange twist, one of the leading evangelical politicians in the US has joined the White House, the UN Human Rights Office, and a corporate coalition in condemning the law. “This Uganda law is horrific & wrong,” tweeted Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican. “Any law criminalizing homosexuality or imposing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ is grotesque & an abomination. ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human rights abuse. #LGBTQ.” In his own country, Cruz has consistently advocated against the civil rights of gay Americans. As recently as last year, he called Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, “clearly wrong” and an act of judicial overreach. (Those remarks were mild compared to his initial reaction to the 2015 decision, which he described at the time as “the very definition of tyranny” and “among the darkest hours of our nation.”)

Anita Among, Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, responded to criticisms of the law by stating that Museveni had “answered the cries of our people.” In a separate statement, Among urged the “duty bearers under the law to execute the mandate bestowed upon them in the Anti-Homosexuality Act.”

FINANCIAL ARMAGEDDON!! | Christopher Titus | Armageddon Update

Despite the theatrics this is a seriously important informative video to watch.    Hugs

Target pulls some LGBTQ+ Pride products from shelves due to violent threats towards staff

Target pulls some LGBTQ+ Pride products from shelves due to violent threats towards staff

This is terrorism, causing fear and harm for a political gain.  This is 1930s German brownshirts attacking Jewish people and establishments along with anyone who did not support Hitlers goals / bigotry.  These people attacking trans people / drag queens and business supporters of the LGBTQ+ are the US fundamentalist Christian maga conservative Nazi gang thugs Taliban pushing their bigotry on to the entire public that doesn’t agree with them.   I keep asking who will be targeted next?   The Texas Chaplin bill that pushes unqualified religious leaders in public school as councilors to the children specifies Christian leaders, and they wouldn’t allow amendments to let other religions be included.  So tell me who the group to be targeted when they force3 the LGBTQ+ into hiding and out of public view?   Hugs 

 
Target has released its Pride Month 2023 collection and the internet has some thoughts.

To mark Pride Month 2023, Target teamed up with LGBTQ+ artists to create capsule collections.(Target/PinkNews)

US retailer Target has pulled some of its LGBTQ+ Pride collection and displays from stores across the country after members of staff faced threats of violence.

 

The company confirmed on Tuesday (22 May) that it will be making changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise ahead of Pride month, which starts next week.

One of the changes includes moving the Pride collection to the back of some of its shops in southern states, following a backlash from shoppers. 

The New York Post quoted a Target source as saying there were “emergency” meetings on Friday (19 May) to address right-wing customers’ outrage over the collections.

The 15-minute meeting included advice about keeping sales staff safe and what Pride-related items and signage to remove.

“We call our customers ‘guests,’ there is outrage on their part. This year it is just exponentially more than any other year,” the source said.

The company is “terrified of a Bud Light situation”, the insider added. 

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement.

“Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the centre of the most significant confrontational behaviour.”

Daily Beast journalist Matt Young shared an extract of the Target statement on Twitter.

Target has not yet confirmed which specific items or brands will be removed, but it is thought that its “tuck-friendly” swimsuits will no longer be on display.

The swimsuit prompted right-wing Americans to call for a boycott of the store, which sells thousands of products for heterosexual, cisgender people. Republican lawmaker Lauren Boebert was among those fuelling the outrage on social media.

Target chief executive Brian Cornell recently defended the retailer’s commitment to inclusion and LGBTQ+ representation while speaking to Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast.

“It’s helping us drive sales, it’s building greater engagement with both our teams and our guests, and those are just the right things for our business today,” he said.

He told the Associated Press that the swimsuits, which provide wearers with extra crotch coverage, are only available in adult sizes. 

Despite Target’s insistence that its change in policy is to protect staff, it has faced criticism online, with people accusing the retailer of “caving in” to right-wing threats.

Some have said that its stance puts LGBTQ+ people in more danger.

One person tweeted: “These people were making death and bomb threats against children’s hospitals, schools and LGBTQ venues.

“Every single time, it got the results they wanted. Why would they stop with Target? Anti-LGBTQ terrorism is continuing to work as intended.”

Bud Light faced a customer boycott over its collaboration with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney last month.

In a bid to regain its formerly loyal customer base, its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, is now said to said to be temporarily redesigning some of its packaging in camouflage print.

PinkNews has contacted Target for comment.

 

LGBTQ Groups To Target: Defend Us, Stand Up To Hate

LGBTQ Groups To Target: Defend Us, Stand Up To Hate

If stores and other LGBTQ+ allies hide their support the hateful fundamentalist Christian white supremacist maga brownshirt gang thugs win.   That encourages them to do more acts of this domestic terrorism.   And they are proud of their tactics.   And they won’t stop, they can not be appeased.   Hugs Matt Walsh quote 

Just in via press release:

Recent pushback against businesses such as Anheuser-Busch and Target, blatantly organized by extremist groups, serves as a wake up call for all businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community.

We’ve seen this extremist playbook of attacks before. Their goal is clear: to prevent LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation, silence our allies and make our community invisible.

These attacks fuel hate against LGBTQ+ people, just as we’ve seen this year with more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills that restrict basic freedoms and aim to erase LGBTQ+ people.

Extremist attacks and harassment of businesses for standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and values of diversity, equity and inclusion have challenged Target, and businesses more broadly, to lead – to demonstrate they mean what they say when investing in and standing with LGBTQ+ people, creatives, and organizations.

Businesses must continue to lead and respond with unwavering support for LGBTQ+ employees, shareholders, customers, allies – and the broader community. When values of diversity, equity and inclusion are tested, business must defend them unequivocally.

Doubling down on your values is not only the right thing to do, it’s good for business. Research shows that if a brand publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights, Americans are 2x more likely to buy or use the brand.

Americans ages 18-34 are 5.5x more likely to want to work at a company if it publicly supports and demonstrates a commitment to expanding and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.

It isn’t just LGBTQ+ consumers and communities: 70% of non-LGBTQ+ people believe companies should publicly support and include the LGBTQ+ community through practices like hiring, advertising and sponsorships (Accelerating Acceptance, 2023).

At this moment, it’s critical that Target champions equity and inclusion as it has for over a decade. Target consistently tops the list for brands that show genuine, authentic support of the LGBTQ+ community through outreach and policies.

Target received recognition for outstanding commitment to DEI from the Executive Leadership Council in 2022. It’s time to prove the recognition was earned.

When it comes to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, there is no such thing as neutrality.

We’re calling on Target to release a public statement in the next 24 hours reaffirming their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, put Pride merchandise back on the sales floor and online in full, ensure safety of team members who are on the front lines.

Target, and all businesses, can leverage the support of LGBTQ+ organizations to navigate this hate, so that together, we can let extremists know unequivocally that, just as with every other failed anti-LGBTQ+ campaign of the past, fear will not win.

The above is cosigned by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the National LGBTQ Task Force, the National Black Justice Coalition, and other groups mentioned below.

 

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Girlgoon  Gustav22 days ago

Frank zappa has been saying this about the evil-gelicals since his last interview with Larry King. No one believed it then.

jimbo65  Girlgoon2 days ago

Yup.

 
 

 

Gigi2 days ago edited

This is how it started in Hitler’s Germany. Nazi propaganda campaigns claimed that Jews were “predators” who were “coming for your children.” Then came the attacks and violence. Flash forward to America in 2023. Christofascists claim that trans people, drag queens and pretty much anyone who isn’t a far-right fascist is a “groomer” who’s “coming for your children.” They won’t stop until there’s blood in the streets.

Wintercat  Gigi2 days ago

They didn’t stop then until they had killed millions and then only stopped because the Allies were shooting them.

Stultus  Houndentenor2 days ago

I see the attacks on Drag Shows as low grade kristallnacht. I used lower case not to disrespect the memory

April Smith 2 days ago edited

Target already pulled a Bud Lite (first support the LGBTQ community then cave into the haters) so either stand with us 100% or don’t even bother.

teeveedub  April Smith2 days ago

The waffling is not a good look.

teeveedub  April Smith2 days ago

The waffling is not a good look.

Jack Frost  teeveedub2 days ago

Just ask the Dodgers.

evanedwards  teeveedub2 days ago edited

Beyond that, it only makes things much worse. As soon as any waffling happens, the fascists smell blood in the water. It only amps them up. To them it’s a sign of weakness and a signal to pounce en masse. More people need to understand the psychology of fascism, it’s well documented and there are many resources online. Knowledge is power.

 

Trump workers moved Mar-a-Lago boxes a day before FBI came for documents

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/25/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/

For those that can not open the link to the story.  Hugs

New details, including alleged ‘dress rehearsal’ for moving sensitive papers, show a focus on Donald Trump’s instructions and intent

By 
, 
, 
 and 
May 25, 2023 at 2:05 p.m. EDT
Former president Donald Trump announces his 2024 presidential bid at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 15. (Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post)
 
9 min

Two of Donald Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers the day before an early June visit by FBI agents and a prosecutor to the former president’s Florida home to retrieve classified documents in response to a subpoena — timing that investigators have come to view as suspicious and an indication of possible obstruction, according to people familiar with the matter.

 
 

Trump and his aides also allegedly carried out a “dress rehearsal” for moving sensitive papers even before his office received the May 2022 subpoena, according to the people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive ongoing investigation.

Prosecutors in addition have gathered evidence indicating that Trump at times kept classified documents in his office in a place where they were visible and sometimes showed them to others, these people said.

 
 

Taken together, the new details of the classified-documents investigation suggest a greater breadth and specificity to the instances of possible obstruction found by the FBI and Justice Department than have been previously reported. It also broadens the timeline of possible obstruction episodes that investigators are examining — a period stretching from events at Mar-a-Lago before the subpoena to the period after the FBI search there on Aug. 8.

Classified 101: How sensitive information should be handled
4:03
 
 
Presidents and vice presidents routinely deal with classified documents, but strict guidelines from a variety of statutes have clear guidelines on the subject. (Video: Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

That timeline may prove crucial as prosecutors seek to determine Trump’s intent in keeping hundreds of classified documents after he left the White House, a key factor in deciding whether to file charges, possibly for obstruction, mishandling national security secrets or both. The Washington Post has previously reported that the boxes were moved out of the storage area after Trump’s office received a subpoena. But the precise timing of that activity is a significant element in the investigation, the people familiar with the matter said.

Grand jury activity in the case has slowed in recent weeks, and Trump’s attorneys have taken steps — including outlining his potential defense to members of Congress and seeking a meeting with the attorney general — that suggest they believe a charging decision is getting closer. The grand jury working on the investigation apparently has not met since May 5, after months of frenetic activity at the federal courthouse in Washington. That is the panel’s longest hiatus since December, shortly after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to lead the probe and coinciding with the year-end holidays.

 
 
Skip to end of carousel
 
Donald Trump is facing historic legal scrutiny for a former president, under investigation by the Justice Department, district attorneys in Manhattan and Fulton County, Ga., and a state attorney general. He denies wrongdoing. Here is a list of the key investigations and where they stand.
Justice Department criminal probe of Jan. 6
The Justice Department is investigating the Jan. 6 riot and whether Trump or his aides may have conspired to obstruct the formal certification in Congress of the election result or committed fraud to block the peaceful transfer of power. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed veteran prosecutor Jack Smith to oversee both this and the Mar-a-Lago investigation.
Mar-a-Lago documents investigation
FBI agents found more than 100 classified documents during a search of Trump’s residence at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 8 as part of a criminal probe into possible mishandling of classified information. A grand jury is hearing witness testimony as prosecutors weigh their next steps.
Georgia election results investigation
Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) is investigating whether Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia. A Georgia judge on Feb. 15 released parts of a report produced by a special-purpose grand jury, and authorities who are privy to the report will decide whether to ask a new grand jury to vote on criminal charges.
Manhattan district attorney’s investigation
District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) convened a grand jury to evaluate business-related matters involving Trump, including his alleged role in hush-money payments to the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. On March 30, the grand jury voted to indict Trump, making him the first ex-president to be charged with a crime. Here’s what happens next.
Lawsuit over Trump business practices in New York
Attorney General Letitia James (D) filed a lawsuit Sept. 21 against Trump, three of his children and the Trump Organization, accusing them of flagrantly manipulating the valuations of their properties to get better terms on loans and insurance policies, and to get tax breaks. The litigation is pending.

1/6

End of carousel

Smith also is investigating Trump’s efforts to block the results of the 2020 election. And the former president — who is again a candidate for the White House — has been indicted in New York on charges of falsifying business records and is under investigation for election-related matters in Fulton County, Ga.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in each case. “This is nothing more than a targeted, politically motivated witch hunt against President Trump that is concocted to meddle in an election and prevent the American people from returning him to the White House,” Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesman, wrote in a statement. “Just like all the other fake hoaxes thrown at President Trump, this corrupt effort will also fail.”

Cheung accused prosecutors of showing “no regard for common decency or key rules that govern the legal system,” and he claimed that investigators have “harassed anyone and everyone who works [for], has worked [for], or supports Donald Trump.”

 
 

“In the course of negotiations over the return of documents, President Trump told the lead DOJ official, ‘anything you need from us, just let us know,’” he continued. “That DOJ rejected this offer of cooperation and conducted a raid on Mar-a-Lago proves that the Biden regime has weaponized the DOJ and FBI.”

A spokesman for Smith declined to comment. Justice Department officials have previously said they conducted the search only after months of efforts to retrieve all classified documents at Mar-a-Lago were unsuccessful.

Of particular importance to investigators in the classified-documents case, according to people familiar with the probe, is evidence showing that boxes of documents were moved into a storage area on June 2, just before senior Justice Department lawyer Jay Bratt arrived at Mar-a-Lago with agents. The June 3 visit by law enforcement officials was to collect material in response to the May 2022 grand jury subpoena demanding the return of all documents with classified markings.

 
 

John Irving, a lawyer representing one of the two employees who moved the boxes, said the worker did not know what was in them and was only trying to help Trump valet Walt Nauta, who was using a dolly or hand truck to move a number of boxes.

“He was seen on Mar-a-Lago security video helping Walt Nauta move boxes into a storage area on June 2, 2022. My client saw Mr. Nauta moving the boxes and volunteered to help him,” Irving said. The next day, he added, the employee helped Nauta pack an SUV “when former president Trump left for Bedminster for the summer.”

The lawyer said his client, a longtime Mar-a-Lago employee whom he declined to identify, has cooperated with the government and did not have “any reason to think that helping to move boxes was at all significant.” Other people familiar with the investigation confirmed the employee’s role and said he has been questioned multiple times by authorities.

 
 

Irving represents several witnesses in the investigation, and his law firm is being paid by Trump’s Save America PAC, disclosure reports show. A lawyer for Nauta, Stanley Brand, declined to comment.

Investigators have sought to gather any evidence indicating Trump or people close to him deliberately withheld any classified papers from the government.

On the evening of June 2, the same day the two employees moved the boxes, a lawyer for Trump contacted the Justice Department and said officials there were welcome to visit Mar-a-Lago and pick up classified documents related to the subpoena. Bratt and the FBI agents arrived the following day.

Trump’s lawyers gave the officials a sealed envelope containing 38 classified documents and a signed attestation that a “diligent search” had been conducted for the documents sought by the subpoena and that all relevant documents had been turned over.

 
 

As part of that visit, Bratt and the agents were invited to visit the storage room where Trump aides said boxes of documents from his time as president were kept. Court papers filed by the Justice Department said the visitors were told by Trump’s lawyers that they could not open any of the boxes in the storage room or look at their contents.

When FBI agents secured a court order to search Mar-a-Lago two months later, they found more than 100 additional classified documents, some in Trump’s office and some in the storage area.

In a court filing in August explaining the search, prosecutors wrote that they had developed evidence that “obstructive conduct” took place in connection with the response to the subpoena, including that documents “were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room.”

This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and partially redacted by the source, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 FBI search of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. (Department of Justice/AP)

Prosecutors also have gathered evidence that even before Trump’s office received the subpoena in May, he had what some officials have dubbed a “dress rehearsal” for moving government documents that he did not want to relinquish, people familiar with the investigation said.

 
 

The term “dress rehearsal” was used in a sealed judicial opinion issued earlier this year in one of several legal battles over the government’s access to particular witnesses and evidence, some of the people said. It was used to describe an episode when Trump allegedly reviewed the contents of some, but not all, of the boxes containing classified material, these people said. The New York Times first reported that Trump’s team conducted what was “apparently a dress rehearsal” before the subpoena arrived.

At the time, Trump and his legal team were engaged in a back-and-forth with the National Archives and Records Administration over whether he had taken from the White House records and property that were supposed to stay with the government. That dispute over presidential records is what ultimately led to the discovery of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago — some of them highly sensitive, including information about a foreign country’s nuclear capabilities; Iran’s missile system; and intelligence gathering aimed at China.

The former president, the people familiar with the situation said, told aides he wanted to make sure he could keep papers that he considered his property.

Trump and the Mar-a-Lago documents: A timeline

That dress rehearsal episode is one of several instances in which investigators see possible ulterior motives in the actions of Trump and those around him. Lawyers for Trump and some of those witnesses, however, have argued in recent months that prosecutors are viewing the sequence of events in too suspicious a light. They say Smith’s team has unfairly dismissed claims that people were not trying to hide anything from the government but simply were carrying out what they considered to be routine and innocent tasks of serving their boss.

 
 

Prosecutors separately have been told by more than one witness that Trump at times kept classified documents out in the open in his Florida office, where others could see them, people familiar with the matter said, and sometimes showed them to people, including aides and visitors.

Depending on the strength of that evidence, such accounts could severely undercut claims by Trump or his lawyers that he did not know he possessed classified material.

The people familiar with the situation said Smith’s team has concluded the bulk of its investigative work in the documents case and believes it has uncovered a handful of distinct episodes of obstructionist conduct.

One of those suspected instances of obstruction, the people said, occurred after the FBI search on Aug. 8. They did not provide further details, but the Guardian has previously reported that in December, Trump’s lawyers found a box of White House schedules, including some that were marked classified, at Mar-a-Lago. In that instance, a junior aide apparently moved the box from a government-leased office in nearby West Palm Beach.

Target Pulls Some Pride Items After MAGA Violence

Target Pulls Some Pride Items After MAGA Violence

And so the Christian Taliban maga brownshirts win.  I have seen one of the videos of these extremists telling other shoppers that a rainbow shirt was from the devil and it was supporting child sex, question workers and other shoppers if they were Satanist or believed in god, talking of grooming kids, all this hyper anti-gay religious stuff.  That video is below in the comments.  These people have learned to be violent, like the maga that went into stores and threw beer out of the shelves and coolers.  Instead of standing up to these domestic terrorist, these chain stores are giving in to them.   Shades of 1930s Germany.  Hugs

The Associated Press reports:

Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers. “Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday.

”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.” Target confirmed that it has moved its Pride merchandise from the front of the stores to the back in some Southern stores after confrontations and backlash from shoppers in those areas.

Target’s Pride month collection has also been the subject of several misleading videos in recent weeks, with social media users falsely claiming the retailer is selling “tuck-friendly” bathing suits designed for kids or in kids’ sizes.

Read the full article.

 

Octoberfurst a day ago

I get so sick and tired of this shit! I understand Target wanting to protect its employees but caving in to terrorist demands only emboldens these cretans.
“Don’t have a Pride parade or we’ll kill ya!”
Result: Pride parade canceled.
“Don’t have Drag Queen story hour or we’ll kill ya!”
Result: Drag Queen story hour canceled.
“Don’t sell gay merchandise or we’ll kill ya!”
Result: Gay merch banned.
Seriously, when does this end? What’s next? “Don’t be gay in public or we’ll kill ya!” So all gay people have to act straight? This is nonsense! I am tired of Bible thumping bigots trying to rule our lives.

 

heleninedinburgh a day ago

Great idea. It is a known fact that if you do what terrorists want, they will go away and never bother you again.

thisone  heleninedinburgha day ago

On the other hand, this Target employee is not backing down.

“Do you support the satanic pride agenda?”

“Mmhmm, both. Satan and Pride.”

juanjo54  thisonea day ago

This video is a year old. Not complaining, mind you because it shows the mindset of the Christian nut jobs who go around preaching hate. But it is not a recent event from this year.

That said there has been some hateful woman going around filming herself in Target screaming about LGBT merchandise. I saw one of her videos yesterday, can’t remember if it was here or on Reddit.

Ohbehr in Minnesota  thisonea day ago

What a little weenie with his little agenda. What an wrongly righteous creep. I hope I don’t run into these kind of people anywhere. What idiocy for Christian grooming and Christian nationalist terrorism.

unsavedheathen a day ago

Hiding the Pride merchandise in the back of the store sure doesn’t scream PRIDE to me.

April Smith  unsavedheathena day ago

Yes and moving the merchandise will not placate the extremists. They won’t be satisfied until it’s been completely removed.

Ron the Juana day ago

They are letting the domestic terrorists win.

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Matt G, Rochester a day ago

If the store staff was being threatened, call the police and have the terrorist arrested! If the local yocals, county clowns, or staties won’t prosecute, call the FBI. After all, they are the ones who are supposed to deal with domestic terrorism. Turn over the store security videos to the FBI and make examples of a few NAZIs.

April Smith  Matt G, Rochestera day ago

Most Target stores I’ve been to have security already. They are usually up by the front doors (not far from where Pride items are/were). Now that Target is hiding the Pride merchandise it will be more vulnerable to vandalism.

Target might as well get rid of all the Pride stuff. They’re shown they really don’t have our backs like they’ve pretended to.

lenvus  April Smith21 hours ago edited

It is definitely different this year in a few of the Tucson stores. Not only is there NOT as much stuff, it is hidden in the very back of the store. The display is inconspicuous. There is only but a few items of clothing, translucent cups, plates, and … yep, that’s about it. A couple of years ago, in that same store, there were three (maybe FOUR!) displays, including one dedicated to music by itself. What in the hell is wrong with Target? As you mentioned, they are capitulating to the whims of the bigots. Something has to change…for the better.

Correction: What the hell is wrong with SOCIETY that Target has to actually protect its employees and its customers from this shit? I wholeheartedly agree with posters (in different threads) here that Target still deserves our support. Unlike other corporate chains, Target has been — and hopefully, will continue to be — supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. I sure as hell would not expect to even find any pride merchandise in, say, Hobby Lobby to start with. So, the mere fact that Target employees have to HIDE merchandise in the first place speaks volumes about the supportive environment of the store and the corporation.

 

 

Going broke because the wealthy want all the money, no help for the people / public

clay thatotherjean2 days ago

Defaulting would also slash the dollar (and our trade balance), jack up interest rates (putting the brakes on housing and infrastructure construction), and reduce our status as the largest free economy.

Gianni Chucktech2 days ago

Aside from the usual times he makes himself look and sound stupid in public, he has a magical way of doing that to himself in pics, too. Our Commander in Chief of all our armed forces actually saluted a Russian military official as if that was what needed to be done to show his abject subservience. Even the Russian would have settled for a handshake. He, along with all the other “felonies” attached to him, did so much to trash America’s prestige and standing in the world.

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